Policy Agenda

No Data About Us Without Us

A Youth Justice Policy Agenda for the AI Crisis in K-12 Education

OVERVIEW

Artificial intelligence (AI) has unleashed a civil rights crisis in the classroom. A trillion-dollar AI industry treats schools as a testing ground for dangerous products that compromise student safety, invade privacy, and violate fundamental rights. Unfortunately, elected officials have failed to address the AI crisis in schools, exposing vulnerable students to powerful technologies that determine their access to education, including high-stakes decisions about student discipline, school policing, disability services, language access, and mental health programs. Lawmakers must act swiftly to protect our young people and empower them to lead in AI governance.

No Data About Us Without Us is our vision for the policy solutions to address the AI crisis in public education. We believe AI policy must be grounded in the needs of young people in communities that face the greatest harms of AI, including youth of color, youth with disabilities, LGBTQIA+ youth, immigrant youth, foster youth, and youth from low-income communities.

OUR SOLUTIONS

Ban AI Surveillance Technologies & End Digital Pushout in Schools 

●      Place a Moratorium on AI in K-12 Education

●      Ban AI Use in Student Discipline

●      End Public Funding for AI Surveillance in Schools

●      Require Judicial Warrants & Probable Cause to Search Student Devices

●      Hold Oversight Hearings of AI and EdTech Companies

●      Invest in Restorative Approaches for Student Misuse of AI, Social Media & Cell Phones

●      Require Public Transparency on Existing AI Surveillance Practices

●      Collect Federal, State, and Local Data on AI Used in Student Discipline & School Policing

Protect youth mental health & wellness from exploitative AI technologies

●      Fund Studies that Examine the Impact of AI on Youth Mental Health

●      Ban AI Therapy for Youth and Young Adults

●      Invest in the Youth Mental Health Workforce

●      Ban AI for Core Academic Programs

Empower Young People & Community Leaders To Co-Govern AI Systems In Schools

●      No AI system should be used in a school district without community approval

●      Develop infrastructure for co-governance for AI in education

●      Fund Critical Media, Computation & Digital Literacy

●      Ensure Students with Disabilities and Other Marginalized Youth Play a Direct Role in AI Governance & Oversight

Protect Students’ Civil Rights & Defend Disability Justice

●      Create a National Student Bill of Digital Rights

●      Protect the Teaching Profession & Ban AI Schools

●      Hold AI Companies Accountable for Violating Children’s Rights

●      Ban the Sale of Sensitive Data Related to Children

●      Blacklist AI Companies that Violate Children’s Rights

●      Fully Fund IDEA

●      Ban AI-Generated IEPs/504 Plans

●      Ban AI for Disability Services

●      Provide Technical Assistance to Schools on AI & Civil Rights

How We Make this Happen

●      Know Your Digital Rights

●      Investigate How AI is Used in Your Local Schools

●      Build Local Partnerships, Campaigns and Coalitions

●      Pressure Your School Board & District Leadership at Public Hearings

●      Hold State Lawmakers and Agency Leaders Accountable

●      Demand Congress Take Action

●      Take Legal Action if Your Rights Are Violated by AI

ABOUT US

No Data About Us Without Us is a policy agenda developed by leading youth justice and digital rights organizations from across the United States, convened by the Twin Cities Innovation Alliance (TCIA), the NOTICE Coalition, and the Communities for Just Schools Fund. Beginning in 2025, our organizations held a community of practice focused on the AI crisis in public education. Through deep study, sustained dialogue, and collective imagination, we created this policy agenda, which presents our vision for defending youth justice in the digital age. Our community of practice includes the Alliance for Educational Justice, Alliance for Quality Education (AQE), Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools (AROS), Brighton Park Neighborhood Council (BPNC), Dignity in Schools Campaign, Education Justice Alliance, Genders & Sexualities Alliance Network (GSAN), the RYSE Youth Center, the Law Firm of Andrew Hariston, and TechTonic Justice. Each organization offered critical insights, labor, and expertise that made this agenda possible. We call on you to join us and take action to make this vision a reality alongside our young people and their communities.